Ear Lobe Reshaping/Reduction
I had a patient consult with our office recently who inquired about ear lobe reduction/reshaping. This happens to be a niche procedure that not a lot of plastic surgeons actually perform on a regular basis. Given the fact that my practice focuses on facial plastic surgery here in San Diego, ear lobe reduction is something that I have done fairly consistently over the years. It is actually a variation of a limited otoplasty, or ear... Continue Reading
Merry Christmas To All
On behalf of the staff at The Hilinski Clinic of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery here in San Diego, we would like to wish all of our family, friends and patients a very merry Christmas!
How To Narrow A Wide Middle Vault With Rhinoplasty
Management of a wide middle vault in rhinoplasty is one of the more difficult techniques when it comes to nasal reshaping. The reason is because you have to consider the positioning of the nasal bones in conjunction with their transition into the upper lateral cartilage as it helps form the brow-tip esthetic line. In order to familiarize yourself with these terms and their relevance in rhinoplasty, make sure to read our rhinoplasty tutorial entry on... Continue Reading
Example of Reconstructive Septorhinoplasty
One of the main differences between my practice and other plastic surgeons' practices is that I have additional advanced specialty training in reconstructive work related to the nose. This more commonly involves patients that need a plastic and reconstructive surgeon for functional, or medically indicated, work that needs to be done. This is commonly referred to as a reconstructive septorhinoplasty. This reconstructive septorhinoplasty patient from San Diego was recently seen in our office and was... Continue Reading
Can You Alter The Nose Height & Length At The Same Time?
This is a question I have seen on some online rhinoplasty forums and decided to answer with a patient example. This patient was recently seen in follow-up evaluation in our office and was thought to be a good case example of altering nasal height and length at the same time. His main complaint on presentation was the convexity, or bump, as seen best on his profile view. In addition, he had ptosis, or drooping, of... Continue Reading
Male, Ethnic Revision Open Rhinoplasty Case Example
This patient was recently seen in the office for follow-up evaluation after a revision open rhinoplasty procedure that I performed. I thought he was a good case example to discuss some of the nuances of bridge and tip reshaping in a male, ethnic revision rhinoplasty patient. This patient was originally operated on in the military several years ago where he had his tip and bridge reshaped. Unfortunately, he developed postoperative loss of his tip projection.... Continue Reading
Imaging Example In Ethnic Rhinoplasty
With as many questions as I get regarding rhinoplasty and computer imaging, I felt compelled to leave a quick post using an ethnic rhinoplasty patient of mine as an example. This particular patient consulted with us desiring reshaping of her nose for a dorsal bump, a depression in her supratip and ptosis (drooping) of her nasal tip. As can be seen from the attached photos, she is an ethnic rhinoplasty patient. Therefore, surgical planning in... Continue Reading
Otoplasty (Ear Reshaping) Primer
The Hilinski Clinic in San Diego, CA, has now developed an otoplasty primer for any patient considering ear reshaping. The otoplasty primer was written in simple language that is easily understandable for those of you with minimal to no medical knowledge. The otoplasty primer starts off with an overview of the relevant anatomy involved with ear reshaping and transitions into more specific information regarding the actual procedure and recovery process. If you or anyone you... Continue Reading
Alar Base Reduction Following Rhinoplasty
Many patients online have inquired about whether or not they can undergo alar base reduction (narrowing) following rhinoplasty. The answer is - yes. In many cases of rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty, patients can benefit from having the base of the nose narrowed at the same time other areas of the nose are being reshaped. There are cases, however, when narrowing the alar base is considered a borderline decision. In these types of rhinoplasty and revision... Continue Reading
Columella Scar Following Rhinoplasty
Many rhinoplasty candidates inquire about the appearance of the columella scar following an open rhinoplasty approach. As I tell most patients considering an open rhinoplasty, the scar generally heals quite nicely with minimal visibility. In fact, we intentionally create a geometrically broken line incision so that we fool the naked eye when it comes to visualization. The incision is also strategically placed under the nose, across the columella that divides the two nostrils. So even... Continue Reading
Influence of Scar Tissue Development on Rhinoplasty Healing
Some patients have inquired about scar tissue formation after rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty. Specifically, they ask if the nose permanently becomes bigger because of scar tissue development under the skin following nasal reshaping? In most cases, the nose will not enlarge significantly following rhinoplasty or revision rhinoplasty. In fact, in most cases the nose will trend toward shrinkage as the months and years go on. There are, however, instances where rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty patients... Continue Reading
